Denis Vasiliyevich Vetchinov (russian: Денис Васильевич Ветчинов; 28 June 1976 – 9 August 2008) was a

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

killed in action during the

2008 South Ossetia war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

and posthumously awarded Russia's highest military award,

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

, for his role in the conflict. In film ''

August Eighth ''August Eighth'' (russian: «Август. Восьмого», translit. ''Avgust. Vosʹmogo'') is a 2012 Russian action war film about the 2008 August War. It was produced and directed by Dzhanik Fayziev. Background The film tells the ...

'' Vetchinov became a prototype of captain Ilya played by

Khasan Baroyev Khasan Makharbekovich Baroyev, os, Бæройты Махарбеджы фырт Хасан, Bærojty Maxarbedžy fyrt Xasan (born December 1, 1982) is a Russian Greco-Roman wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling- ...

Biography

Born 23 June 1976 in

Stepnogorsk Stepnogorsk ( kk, Степногорск, translit=Stepnogorsk; russian: Степногорск) is a town in Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. History Stepnogorsk was established in 1959, and has been a town since 1964. It is located about 200 km ...

(now

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

), he graduated from the Omsk Officers' Academy in 1999. He participated in the

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...

Death

On 9 August 2008, the second day of Russian involvement in the

Battle of Tskhinvali The Battle of Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალის ბრძოლა; russian: link=no, Бои за Цхинвали) was a battle for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway state of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle ...

, a column of Russian vehicles with a few journalists and 58th Army commander

Anatoly Khrulyov Lieutenant General Anatoly Nikolayevich Khrulyov (russian: Анатолий Николаевич Хрулёв; Naro-Fominsk, 3 June 1955) is a Russian general who was the commander of the Russian 58th Army from 2006 until his retirement in 2010. ...

onboard was

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

ed by Georgian

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

in the outskirts of

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval ( os, Цхинвал, Чъреба, Tskhinval, Chreba, ; rus, Цхинва́л(и), r=Tskhinvál(i), ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, int ...

. Khrulyov was wounded in the ensuing firefight. Allegedly Vetchinov, armed with a trophy Georgian machine gun, organised defence but was wounded in both legs. He continued firing at the enemy and killed a Georgian soldier. Vetchinov kept covering fire until he was hit in the head by Georgian fire. He died on the way to hospital. On 15 August Denis Vetchinov was posthumously awarded the

golden star "for courage and heroism while fulfilling his duty in the North Caucasus region". He is survived by his wife and little daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vetchinov, Denis 1976 births 2008 deaths People from Akmola Region Heroes of the Russian Federation Russian military personnel killed in action Military personnel killed in the Russo-Georgian War

Biography

Death

See also

References